Across the border in Austria an ominous cloud has formed: beginning this June cyclists will have to pay to ride Austria's highest mountain, the Großglockner. Cyclists will have to dip into their wallets and pay € 5, between 9 am and 3 pm to ride the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. The "5-euro safety & service fee is collected from bicyclists to ride on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road during peak times in the high season." There is no fee outside of the peak times. Automobiles currently pay 28 euro and motorcycles 19 euro.
In northern Italy, in the Sudtirolo, Trentino and Bellunese, there have been years of discussion and debate about introducing tolls for automobiles to use the mountain passes. Let's hope any fees for cycling are a long, long way off into the future.
The Giro d'Italia returns to the Grossglockner High Alpine Road after 40 years on May 20th. The stage sets out in Spilimbergo in the Friuli region to the Kaiser Franz Josef Höhe.
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Posts
What is their justification for the fee, to pay for the emergency services if you crash/collapse?
ReplyDelete@sven: part of the fee is for insurance coverage, see: http://www.grossglockner.at/en/hochalpenstrasse/radfahrer/sicherheitspaket/
ReplyDelete€5 isn't too bad. Makes sense for them to carry insurance- the ambulance / helicopter charges would cost a fortune if someone crashed up there. It's been a few years since I drove it, but the nearest town seemed quite a long way.
ReplyDeleteIn Italy bicycles still pay ZERO to ride the climb of Tre Cime di Lavaredo while autos pay a hefty toll.
ReplyDelete